Orlando Magic News for September 4th: Historically Bad Backup Centers, a Former Player No Longer Homeless, and More

Who’s the NBA’s Worst Offensive Player? (or, Some Jason Collins Numbers From 2009)

A few weeks ago, in a post about potential big men the Orlando Magic could sign, I wondered if Jason Collins would even land an NBA gig this year. Well, he did, as the division-rival Atlanta Hawks inked him to a one-year deal on Wednesday; here's Peachtree Hoops' tepid reaction. Basketball-Reference examines how awful Collins is on offense, and shows that his defensive ability, which has kept him in the league this long, has waned in recent years.

I mention all this because the Magic re-signed defensive stalwart Adonal Foyle last week. They made the right call, no?

NBA Washout David Vaughn Back From The Depths of Despair

Tim Povtak catches up with former Magic power forward David Vaughn, who was homeless last year. Thankfully, he's off the street now.

"I went from the pinnacle of having it all, to the pits of having absolutely nothing, and seeing no light at the end of the tunnel," he said. "I was a mess, but I didn't want to end up in hell. And now I'm on my way back."

Carlos Arroyo to the Clippers?

There are conflicting reports out of Los Angeles about the Clippers' interest in former Magic point guard Carlos Arroyo, who played in Israel last season.

SLAM ONLINE | " Top 50: Rudy Gay, no. 44

As Eddy linked to a few days ago, SLAM ranked Jameer Nelson the league's 48th-best player, "based solely on projected ‘09-10 performance." Today, it revealed Memphis Grizzlies forward Rudy Gay as the league's 44th-best player using the same criterion. Magic fans complain all the time about the media underrating their team as a whole. Now they can complain about underrating its players, too.

Brandon Bass Dunks On Michael Beasley

On a lighter note, You Got Dunked On has video of Brandon Bass dropping the hammer on Miami Heat forward Michael Beasley in a game last season. Watch how well Bass runs the floor in this clip, and how deftly he shrugs off the Heat's collapsing defense before slamming it home.

Between Bass, Dwight Howard, and Marcin Gortat, the Magic have some tremendously athletic big men.

A Few Points on Twitter and the NBA (from Eddy)

Kevin Arnovitz of TrueHoop chimes in on Twitter and the NBA. A must-read.

The NBA's best ambassadors will always be its players, and media like Twitter have enabled them to connect with the league's most valued customers on an unprecedented level. Simply put, Twitter has made the NBA more fun to follow over the past year. [NBA Commissioner David] Stern told [Yahoo! Sports' Marc] Spears that, "You want to make sure that pop culture doesn't intrude on what brought us here, which is the game, and that we show the right respect for the game." I'm not certain that conflation is correct. For one, "pop culture" and social media aren't the same thing -- any more than pop culture and television. Twitter is a delivery system, a means of transmission.